SP and Congress anti-Sanatan, practiced graveyard wall secularism: Yogi Adityanath
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday accused the Samajwadi Party (SP) and Congress of being "anti-Sanatan", alleging that they practised a version of
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday accused the Samajwadi Party (SP) and Congress of being "anti-Sanatan", alleging that they practised a version of secularism that prioritised graveyard boundary walls over religious and developmental projects. Addressing a public event in Barabanki, where he inaugurated and laid the foundation stones for 82 development projects worth over Rs 542 crore, Adityanath alleged that previous governments spent public money on constructing boundary walls around graveyards while neglecting temples and other public works. Read Full Story "Constructing a boundary wall for the graveyard had become a standard of secularism," Adityanath said, claiming that projects related to temples, including the Mahadeva temple in Barabanki, the Ram temple in Ayodhya and the Kashi Vishwanath Temple, did not receive support because they were viewed as "communal". Calling the SP and Congress "anti-Sanatan", Adityanath said the state's future and security were linked to the preservation of Sanatan Dharma.
"Our bright future rests upon the solid foundation of Sanatan. If Sanatan is secure, we are all secure. If there is any threat to Sanatan, no one will be able to survive it," he said. The Chief Minister alleged that restrictions on the Kanwar Yatra, Janmashtami celebrations, Ram Navami processions and Durga Puja pandals had become markers of secularism under previous regimes. "We must uproot this kind of secularism and move forward to build a secure India on the strong soil of Sanatan," he said. Targeting the SP, Adityanath accused the party of promoting caste divisions and urged the older generation to remind young people of what he described as the party's history of "hooliganism, vandalism, dacoity, anarchy and looting". The Chief Minister also contrasted the state's current law-and-order situation with the past, highlighting the ongoing production of BrahMos missiles in Lucknow. "Earlier, country-made pistols and bombs were used to loot traders.
Today, BrahMos missiles are being manufactured in Lucknow. Once it is fired, everyone -- from Pakistan to its masters -- loses their sleep," he said, adding that both women and traders now felt safer in the state. Adityanath further accused the previous SP government of corruption in major infrastructure projects. Referring to the Jayaprakash Narayan International Centre (JPNIC) project in Lucknow, he alleged that despite expenditure running into hundreds of crores, the project remained incomplete. He also claimed that the Purvanchal Expressway, which the SP had estimated would cost Rs 15,200 crore, was completed by the BJP government for Rs 11,800 crore after fresh execution of the project. Similarly, he alleged irregularities in the Gomti Riverfront project, claiming that despite spending Rs 1,700 crore against an estimated cost of Rs 167 crore, the project remained unfinished under the previous regime. Invoking former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, Adityanath said Rahul Gandhi had once remarked that only 15 paise out of every rupee spent by the government reached the intended beneficiary, using the statement to attack the Congress over corruption.
The BriefWire